lab Mix|male|3 years old|80 lbs|Adoption Fee $325

Updates from Foster Home:

Pupdate 3: It's been so fun to see Cash settling in so well to our home. He is such a sweetie, and is relaxed and calm and incredibly easy to take care of. He was never an unruly dog, but after having him for just over four weeks it's clearer now that he's comfortable in his new digs and almost never does his annoying "love me love me love me" thing. He knows we do! Cash is also completely adaptable to my schedule, and as long as he gets some walks and some cuddle time with me, he's a perfect gentleman. Last weekend I was hit with a pretty nasty cold, and Cash slept in his crate without a peep while I slept 10+ hours several nights in a row. When I woke up, he'd just wag his tail and calmly get out of his crate and go for a walk with me. A dog that lets me sleep in is a pretty amazing dog in my book :)

So with us, Cash is a great dog. With guests, I'd say he's downgraded to "pretty darn good with a few things to work on." We've had quite a few visitors lately and that's when Cash shows off his attention-needy self. Again, he never does anything bad, he can just get really excited, jump up for visitors and mouth their hands for attention. He absolutely adores everyone he's ever met, and he just doesn't understand that if he were calmer, he'd get more attention. He always calms down fairly quickly (and I've noticed the more he's been exercised that day, the better he acts). For example, a friend was over one night and Cash immediately flopped his 80 pound self onto her lap on the couch and starting mouthing her for attention, but she was pretty calm with him and within a few minutes he was laying next to her politely so she could pet him. Another one of our visitors was my 5-year-old niece, who has always been relaxed around dogs, and he did great with her! The only time it got to be a bit much was when he saw her stuffed animal she sleeps with and decided it was his toy (not an unreasonable assumption, really), but she got upset and then he got riled up by her being upset. So I finished putting her to bed, took him for a walk to get his wiggles out, and everything was great the rest of the time she was at my house. Her visit also helped answer the kid question, and I'd say that with proper supervision (meaning, someone who can redirect him in the few situations where he just gets so worked up he needs to be offered an outlet other than mouthing to get his energy out), Cash is good with kids who like dogs!

I still tell everyone that I can't make any promises that Cash will entirely outgrow this neediness, but considering he's basically outgrown it with us in four weeks and is making great strides in doing so with visitors, all signs point to Cash turning into just an amazing dog!

Pupdate 2: Since his last pupdate, Cash spent half the time with a sitter and now is back with us. His sitter said Cash needs to work on his manners (true) but acknowledged he has such a good heart and just loves everyone. And for whatever reason, since Cash returned from the sitter, he's been SO much better. I think it's part he was showing off for his sitter's resident dog, part he's starting to feel more settled and secure in our home. Cash is much less needy than he was previously, and he's just getting easier and easier to live with. He still follows me around like a shadow, but the obvious ploys for attention (jumping, mouthing) are greatly reduced -- though, importantly, they are not gone entirely.

I still take him for at least two walks a day and that seems to be enough to settle him down. For example, last night I didn't walk him right away and instead made dinner and did some stuff around the house, and he got a little antsy. He jumped up, he didn't seem relaxed, etc. As soon as we got back from our walk, though, he cuddled on the couch with me and we watched TV and he was as sweet and gentle and calm as can be. And I think that's pretty normal for a dog Cash's age -- you have to help them get their wiggles out a couple times each day, but it's not an excessive commitment and then they'll be happy. Cash also loves wrestling to get his energy out, and his mouthing during play time is improving, too! And while he may have counter surfed at his sitter's (sorry about your pork chop, sitter!), he's never done that at our house, and he's never chewed anything he's not supposed to (though I don't think I've ever left tempting food on the counter without also being in the kitchen). As in the last pupdate, I keep Cash in the crate when we're sleeping or not home, but when we are home, there's no need for constant vigilance or concern about what he's going to do wrong. He's not looking to get in trouble to get our attention, and he generally has very good house manners.So between his sitter's comments and our time back with him, I've come up with the following thought on Cash: with work and patience and the time to feel settled in, manners can be improved; it's hard to train a dog to have a good heart. And Cash truly has an amazing heart. He's not going to be a piece-of-cake dog from the start, but he's well over halfway there, and he has all the signs of a dog that is going to be awesome for the forever home that helps him thrive!

Pupdate 1: Say hi to Cash, a big lovable goofy black lab mix looking for his forever home! Cash came to us after being rescued in rural Texas, and everyone who helped with his rescue there is SO in love with him. After a couple of weeks as my foster, I can easily see why. He's so happy, loves all people, and just wants you to love him. Cash is incredibly easy to take care of. He's happy to go for a couple walks a day, and then he never complains when he needs to spend the day and night in his crate. When I'm home and not sleeping, he gets to be out of his crate and roams freely. Mostly he just follows me around (ok, sometimes I think he's being a little needy, but I also find that pretty typical with a rescue) and wants to be near me, and he is yet to chew something he shouldn't or destroy anything. He's also pretty food motivated, so he learns good behaviors quickly if rewarded for them. I feel like I'm not saying enough good things about him because it's hard to be descriptive when I just want to say he's a good little buddy and I've enjoyed having him as my foster!

I always like to be honest and list the "needs work" qualities in addition to the good ones, but there aren't too many things he needs to work on. For one, he gets really excited and often forgets he's 80 pounds. He likes to jump up when he's excited, and I made the mistake of letting him on the couch and he likes to go to sleep with all 80 pounds on top of me! And sometimes he'll try to play with me like a dog which means he'll mouth my hands and arms. He's definitely playing and not trying to be mean, but it can hurt sometimes. That's the worst thing he does, and it's not too worrisome for adults but I do want to tell families with children to be cautious. Other than that, he could use some loose-leash training. And his default mode with all dogs so far is "let's be friends," but if a dog growls or reacts poorly first, he doesn't hesitate to growl back. He can easily live in a house with other dogs, but probably not with an alpha male or a dog that's known to be reactive.

We're not quite sure of Cash's age. His TX paperwork says he's 4 years old, but everyone at his vet appointment at Underdog swears he's not much older than 2. So we'll just say he's a young adult, with the energy of a typical young lab when he needs it, but the good demeanor of a settled, happy dog the rest of the time. I think after a few months of not moving around in rescue, when he feels relaxed and comfortable and knows he's found his forever home, he's going to make one awesome dog for whoever adopts him and is willing to put a little work in with him at the start.